Chapter 10: Hallowe'en
| Simplified Chinese (Mandarin: China) | ||
| 万圣节前夜 Wànshèng-jié qiányè |
万圣节
wànshèng-jié = 'ten-thousand saints festival' = 'all-saints day'. 前夜 qiányè = 'previous night'. |
Halloween |
| Traditional Chinese (Mandarin: Taiwan) | ||
| 萬聖節驚魂 Wànshèng-jié jīnghún |
萬聖節
wànshèng-jié = 'ten-thousand saints festival'. 驚魂 jīnghún = 'shock-the-soul' = 'fear, shock, horror'. |
Halloween Horror |
| Japanese | ||
| ハロウィーン Harowiin |
ハロウィーン Harowiin = 'Halloween'. | Halloween |
| Korean | ||
| 핼러윈 Hallowin |
핼러윈 Hallowin = 'Halloween'. | Halloween |
| Vietnamese (Chinese characters show etymology) | ||
| Lễ hội ma Haloween | lễ hội
(禮會?) = 'festival'. ma (魔) = 'ghost'. Haloween (pronunciation: Ha-lô-guyn). |
Halloween Ghost Festival |
| Mongolian (previous) | ||
| Халлоуны баяр Khallounii bayar |
Халлоун khalloun = 'Halloween'. (-ы -ii Genitive form Халлоуны khallounii 'of Halloween'.) баяр bayar = 'festival'. |
Halloween Festival |
| Mongolian (new) | ||
| Хэллоуин Khellouin |
Хэллоуин khellouin = 'Halloween'. |
Halloween |
Halloween, which falls on 31 October, is the evening before All Hallows' Day, a time devoted to remembering the dead. For more on the background of Western Halloween, see here. The modern American-style Halloween is becoming a world-wide phenomenon, even in countries which are not traditionally Christian.
How is 'Halloween' translated?
- In Japan, Halloween is well known under its English name ハロウィーン, Harowiin in Japanese transcription.
- Halloween is also well-known in Korea under its English name. The translation uses 핼러윈 haelleowin, the standard form according to The National Institute of Korean Language Loanword Orthography. In popular usage, 할로윈 hallowin is more common.
- In Chinese cities it's becoming popular for hotels and bars to celebrate Western-style
Halloween as 萬聖節 (Trad.) / 万圣节 (Simpl.) wànshèng-jié
'ten-thousand holy festival', a literal translation of 'All Saints Festival' or 'All Hallows'. This naming is not totally accurate because
'Hallowe'en' is actually the day before All Saints' Day, which in Chinese would be 万圣节前夜 Wànshèng-jié qiányè 'All Saints Day Previous Night'. Hallowe'en in China is sometimes also called 鬼節 / 鬼节 guǐjié
'ghosts' festival' in Chinese, borrowing the name of a traditional
Chinese festival of a similar nature.
The Mainland translator, who depends mainly on dictionaries, is scrupulously accurate, translating Halloween as 'All Saints Eve'. The Taiwanese translator follows the less accurate but more popular usage, translating Halloween as 萬聖節 wànshèng-jié ('All Saints' Festival').
The Taiwanese translator also dramatises the title, changing it into 'Halloween Horror'. The word 驚魂 / 惊魂 jīnghún 'fear, shock, horror' is apt to be used in newspaper headlines precisely where sensationalist English-language newspapers would use 'shock', 'horror', or 'nightmare'. 驚魂 jīnghún is also common in movie titles, the classic example being Psycho, generally known in Chinese as 驚魂記 / 惊魂记 Jīnghún-jì ('Chronicle of Fear'). - The Vietnamese translator uses the English word 'Haloween' but feels obliged
to explain to readers that it is the 'ghosts' festival'. (The pronunciation Ha-lô-guyn is not actually footnoted until Book 2. The 'g' is a rough throaty sound, not an
English 'g').
- Halloween is a relatively recent arrival in Mongolia. The older translation is phonetically inaccurate and adds the word for 'festival'. The newer translation is more phonetically accurate and similar to the Russian name, Хеллоуин kh'ellouin.
(Korean appears thanks to "Hiro".)
(Detailed notes on the chapter can be found at Harry Potter Lexicon)
| ⇚ Chapter 9 |  |